thethirdwonder | For Tim

It was less then an hour between the time Cassie had found the brand new heavy bag with her name on it outside the hut and when she'd had it securely chained up in the branches of a near by tree. The accompanying gloves had been promptly tied in place and since then, she'd been pounding away her frustrations on the bag for a good few hours every morning and sometimes again in the afternoon. With her sparring partners limited again, and she'd never liked taking her anger out on other people anyway, the bag had helped her control her growing anger and unease caused by the island to the point she could function almost normally again. Because loosing control on New Year's Eve had frankly scared her.

Today, she'd worked in another afternoon session. She'd snapped at Iris for being in her way and she knew that when she yelled at the dog for no reason, it was time for a little cool down with her gloves and bag. Drinking a bottle of water, Cassie was just returning to the hut, gloves tied together and thrown over her shoulder, tired enough that it took her a moment to realize someone other then Cissie was there.

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Sometimes Kon was right. Painfully right. But Cassie wasn't in a frame of mind at the moment to admit that. His last painful truths was what got her in the current mess she was in.

Which was good because Tim rendered her speechless for a moment, her eyes wide as she thought about that. Funny, she never felt very grown up. She at least felt Cissie had her beat there, even when they were Young Justice. But then, maybe that's why Cissie had had the strength to leave. "I don't feel very grown up. I wish I did." Maybe things would make sense for a change.

At his observation, Cassie pointedly looked away to hide the pain in her eyes. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to share with Tim, it was just reflex from trying to be strong all the time. "A lot has happened while we've been here." She said simply, more from not knowing how to say it then not wanting too. "We've both made a lot of mistakes that I don't think we're going to recover from." It was her fear after all, that she'd finally lost him.

"Hey," he says carefully, letting the moment stretch and strain before he stops hesitating, lifts her hand from his arm and holds it in his own. It's strange, to not have his gauntlets on, to be touching skin instead of nomex to a metal cuff, but he'll adapt to that too.

"I don't always feel very grown up either, but sometimes it's for the best, right? We didn't form Young Justice because we wanted to be the new Justice League." His smile is a bit strained, thawing out as he hears himself say it and...remembers.

He's been doing too much on his own lately, trying to find himself without Bruce when he'd been someone without Bruce for years. Someone with his friends. "Are you okay, not recovering from them?"

Her cuffs. She hadn't even thought about them for a long time, since she hadn't worn them since her arrival. But even though she was used to being out of uniform with her friends, holding his hand still felt nice. She squeezed it with a small fleeting smile.

A smile that returns when he mentions Young Justice. "We were so young then. No, we weren't trying to be the Justice League but I don't think any of us quite knew what we were getting into." She didn't, couldn't, regret it but it was true. "Sure was less complicated though wasn't it?" When they had voted for a leader like a new class president and Cassie still wondered if they'd been right.

Cassie knew that feeling, but it had been here on the island. Donna being around for a while had helped and Cissie made things better now but she was still figuring it out. Tim...Tim really helped and she was very glad he was here. Cissie was her best friend but Tim understood. She paused for a long moment before looking back at him. "Would you hold it against me if I said...if I said I don't know? I've tried...and as you can see, not doing so well."

Tim looks at her hand in his and doesn't think about that dinner, doesn't think about her finding him in the cemetery when he'd set off on his own, cut himself off from everyone and--and resented her for trying, after they'd been on such poor terms.

He doesn't want to remember that, wonders why he couldn't be like them, cut off from that future. He wonders if Bart feels it too, and that--helps, some. "I couldn't, even if I wanted to," he says. "We'll just...help each other through it, like old times."

"I know. Thank you." Ignoring how watery her eyes got for just a split second, Cassie smiled warmly at Tim. She wondered how their conversation had gone from him venting about Kon to him comforting her about the same but...it was what they both needed. "I'm really glad you're here, Tim," she said before using their joined hands to pull him into a hug.

"I'm glad you're here too," he says, that much true even if he's not sure he's glad to be here. He could learn to be, if they need him, and it only takes another moment, searching the air with his hands for a neutral place to land before he's resting them lightly under her shoulders and hugging her back.

For Tim

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